Last month I was proud to attend the celebration of the completion of the current phase of the Crane Valley Smarter Water Catchment Programme and the launch of the updated ‘State of the Crane Environment Report,’ an initiative I have been involved in with other local Parliamentarians over recent years.
The Smarter Water Catchment Programme is an initiative led by Thames Water in collaboration with The Crane Valley Partnership. The Crane Valley Partnership, which was established with the mission to restore and conserve the River Crane, one of London’s most natural river systems and a tributary of the River Thames flowing through the boroughs of Hillingdon, Hounslow and Richmond. The Crane Valley Partnership was selected by Thames Water in 2020 as the first urban Smarter Water Catchment in recognition of their excellent work on enhancing the surrounding habitats of the River Crane and improving public access and engagement with the natural environment, with Thames Water committed to investing £3 million in the Crane Valley over the first five years across the catchment area. Crane Valley Partnership funding also supported the recent Friends of Hanworth Park House biodiversity workshops in Hanworth Park.
The River Crane’s Smarter Water Catchment Programme is part of Thames Water’s Smarter Catchment initiative, which is aimed at enhancing river health through working with local stakeholders and the community. The programme is in place to improve the health of the River Crane and the surrounding catchment area, with the report focusing on five key themes – public awareness, access and recreation; biodiversity and ecological connectivity; flood resilience; water quality; and geomorphology.
The event was a tribute to the incredible work done by Rob Gray and the Crane Valley Partnership over the last five years. The report discusses how The Smarter Water Catchment Programme has invigorated the work of the Crane Valley Partnership and helped to mobilise a further £20 million of investment across the five key themes. It has brought together local authorities and private landowners with over 40 expert organisations across all sectors and over 70 community-based groups to create effective networks that help deliver change to the River Crane and the Valley.
The event, attended by over 100 people from local groups across the Crane Valley Partnership catchment area saw representatives from Thames Water, Greater London Authority, The Environmental Agency, Heathrow and 70 local community groups come together to discuss future plans for the five key themes. It was an opportunity for networking and sharing ideas for what more we can do and how we can work together to unlock further access to the river.
Networks of specialist consultants and contractors are working together with landowners, academics and community-based groups to bring improvements on the ground with pilot projects in place across all themes. These networks are responsible for identifying the £20 million of investment linked to the five key themes, with around half of the investment generated as a direct result of the programme.
At the celebrations, it was great to hear about how the programme has had a positive impact on community engagement with the River Crane and the Valley. Volunteering, citizen science and training are integral parts of the programme’s delivery, monitoring and maintenance and the successful work achieved by The Smarter Water Programme is partly due to the involvement of the community.
As someone who has been involved with local park and environment initiatives since I was at school, it is great to see and hear about other likeminded people coming together to preserve the local ecosystems and wildlife. I would like to encourage residents and members of the community to get involved with this initiative. Through the Crane Valley Partnership and the great networks that have formed through this initiative, over 70 further projects are being delivered for people to get involved with. To get involved you can contact the Crane Valley Partnership via their email cvp@cvcic.org.uk.